This is March’s ‘thought for the month’. (You can read February’s ‘thought for the month’ here, and January’s here, with the latter including an explanation about why I’m interspersing these thoughts, with my stories, on the blog this year.)
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Recently, we reached the first anniversary of the World Health Organisation declaring COVID-19 to be a global pandemic. People all over the globe took time to pause and reflect on the last year. (Here, in the UK, this included the Queen!)
Who could have conceived that something as small as a virus would bring such significant change to our daily lives, across every nation in the world, within the space of just 12 months?!
Our language has been transformed to include words and phrases that weren’t previously part of our vocabulary: Lockdowns. Quarantine. Self-isolation. Social distancing. Support bubbles. Stockpiling. Community spread. Transmission rates. Asymptomatic. Incubation period. Herd immunity. Diagnostics. Contact tracing.
Our behaviours have also been altered beyond recognition. Instead of shaking hands, or hugging, we elbow bump or stand two metres apart. Rather than travelling to places of work, many of us are working from home. Our only means of keeping in touch with loved ones is through computer screens. And most of us won’t now go into shops, or other public places, without wearing a facemask.
As restrictions start to ease in the coming weeks and months, all sorts of emotions are swirling around. But one piece of news has caught my attention and got me thinking. It’s the fact that various health and scientific experts are warning that the need for face coverings could last for years to come …
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Have you ever thought about how important it is to see someone’s face; how much it matters that others can see your own face; and how challenging it is to communicate when we’re all wearing face coverings?
Facemasks conceal our full facial features, hiding smiles, and making it impossible to lip read. Facemasks also muffle our voices, distorting intonation, and forcing us to speak in a louder, more enunciated way.
They prevent genuine ‘face to face’ conversation.
In Exodus 33 verse 11, the Bible tells us, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man* speaks with his friend.”
This speaks to me of the extraordinary intimacy and communion that Moses had with the Lord – because being ‘face to face’ suggests very close proximity. (It wouldn’t work with facemasks!)
In this verse, the Hebrew word used for ‘face’ is the word ‘panim’. It’s a word that can be translated as ‘presence’. What Moses wanted, more than anything else, was for God to turn His face towards him, so that he might experience the presence of God – and that’s what God offered him, His presence.
But God also warned Moses, in Exodus 33 verse 20, ‘You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live’. Then He covered Moses’ face to protect him from His glory and, thereafter, Moses had to veil his own face in the presence of the people, in case they were blinded by the reflected radiance of God.
Jesus’ death and resurrection, which we will be celebrating next week, at Easter, means that we can now enter God’s presence without this kind of fear of destruction.
As St. Paul says in the Bible, in 2 Corinthians 3 verse 18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Isn’t this what all of us need? To have our faces unveiled? To come into God’s presence? To contemplate His glory? To be transformed into His image? To spend time speaking with Him, ‘face to face’, ‘as a man* speaks with his friend’?
During this past year, I’ve been so grateful that God doesn’t wear a facemask when I chat with Him – and that He doesn’t expect me to wear one either when He chats with me!
‘Face to face’ doesn’t have to involve a facemask barrier when it’s between us and God.
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How are you finding the facemask restrictions where you live?
Who are the people that you long to speak with ‘face to face’, without wearing facemasks, once restrictions have been eased?
What about speaking ‘face to face’ with God, ‘as a man speaks with his friend’? Have you ever tried this? Why don’t you pray and see where it takes you?
As ever, please feel free to share your reflections in the comments below.
*’man’ in the sense intended in this Bible verse also includes ‘woman’
Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
7 Comments
Jo, how blessed I am by your wisdom in this articulate reflection. I long to see my friends and family ‘face to face’. Thank you for reminding me that I can have that intimacy with God.
Thanks for this encouragement, Mary. I can understand why you’re longing to see friends and family ‘face to face’ again. Hopefully it won’t be too long until it’s possible and, in the meantime, you can at least be ‘face to face’ with God.
I miss seeing people smiling – actually strangers as much as friends. Seeing people smile totally lifts my day, even and sometimes especially when it’s ‘merely’ an acknowledgement as we pass on the street.
Thanks for sharing this, lionzane. I know what you mean about how a day can be lifted by people smiling. Here’s to that returning fully soon!
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